South Korea proposed Thursday that North Korea be invited to an Asia-Pacific summit which includes the United States if six-party nuclear disarmament talks proceed smoothly.
North Korea's attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperationforum summit would requires approval from the US and other countries, said Unification Minister Chung Dong-Young.
South Korea will host the summit in November in the southern city of Busan.
Chung said North Korea had already been asked whether its number two leader Kim Yong-Nam would be able to attend the meeting as an observer if allowed to do so.
Kim, president of the Supreme Peoples Assembly (parliament) presidum, is nominally in charge of external affairs.
"If six-party talks proceed smoothly, we can ask other member countries whether North Korea is able to attend the APEC summit as an observer," Chung said during a parliamentary hearing.
"North Korea's attendance, however, requires consent from the United States and other member countries."
After two years of six-way negotiations, North Korea on Monday agreed to a statement of principles on abandoning its atomic weapons in return for energy and security guarantees.
But on Tuesday the Stalinist nation warned it would not dismantle its nuclear weapons until the United States delivered light-water reactors to allow it to generate power.
Washington says the reactors would be discussed only after North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons in a verifiable manner.
The dispute threw the six-party deal into doubt but Chung remained optimistic. The deal marked "North Korea's debut in the international community," he said.
The 21-member APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, South Korea, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.
